Organisers decided to call off the activity as it would be too treacherous in tonight’s wet and stormy conditions. Photo: Dickson Lee
Torrential rain meant the famous Cheung Chau bun scramble was called off last night for the first time since it was revived in 2005 – and that wasn’t the only problem the foul weather caused for the island’s annual holiday festival.
Organisers made the decision to cancel at about 11pm, an hour before the scramble was to begin, sending disappointed festival-goers rushing back to their ferries.
The ritual sees competitors scramble up towers to snatch buns. Organisers decided the midnight race would be too treacherous after the Observatory extended a thunderstorm warning issued earlier.
Watch: Cheung Chau residents parade to celebrate Hong Kong's annual Tai Ping Festival
Contestant and former winner Cheung Man-cheung expressed disappointment that organisers could not make alternate arrangements, such as lowering the 15-metre towers or reducing the three-minute time limit. “We came all the way here and have been training for months,” We all just wanted to compete,” he said.
Yung Chi-ming, director of the festival committee, said the decision was necessary but “very unfortunate”. Student King Tse was disappointed after waiting for hours to watch the scramble, which has its roots in a ritual dating to 1894 to appease the spirits of islanders killed in a plague, but said safety came first.
IN PICTURES: Cheung Chau Bun Festival 2015
The letdown came after a sunny day with temperatures of up to 32 degrees Celsius and only one reminder of the weekend’s wet weather – the stench of rotting buns, which could be smelled from 30 metres away.
“Oh, the buns stink!” was how many visitors reacted as they saw white buns on the towers slowly turning brown. The buns would have been replaced by plastic ones for the scramble.
The highlight of the day was, as always, the Piu Sik afternoon parade, in which hot-button issues were fodder for mockery.
In a depiction of controversy over cross-border trading, a girl dressed as a rich mainlander stood above another girl, meant to represent Hongkongers. The girl below received falling yuan banknotes, with infant formula and toothpaste lying next to her.
Chu Mei-yan, from a residents’ group that came up with the idea, said: “My message is that mainlanders and Hongkongers should live in harmony,” said Chu Mei-yan, from the group that had the idea.
Ferry operator New World said 48,000 people had travelled between the island and Central by 9pm.
